PHILADELPHIA — He didn’t have a white flag taped to the underside of his seat, but Sixers coach Doug Collins didn’t need one. Sending out beleaguered big Kwame Brown and forgotten guard Nick Young to start the fourth quarter seemed like an acceptance of defeat.

Instead, Brown grabbed a few rebounds, Young canned a few jumpers and the Sixers stayed within an arm’s reach of a team that probably had no business winning at Wells Fargo Center.

No fourth-quarter flurry of baskets or second-half scoring surge Tuesday night was going to bail out the Sixers, who played without care for three quarters in dropping a 111-99 decision against New Orleans.

The Hornets (12-26), bottom-feeders in the Western Conference, got 23 points and eight assists from Greivis Vasquez and 10 points and seven rebounds from gold-medal-winning forward Anthony Davis.

As for the Sixers, they picked up 14 points from Young in 15 minutes off the bench. Jrue Holiday pulled off his usual act, supplying a little bit of everything. He had 29 points, 11 assists, four rebounds and four steals in the loss.

The Sixers (16-23), who won Saturday, were going for their first winning streak since late November, when they won three in a row.

So much for that.By no means are the Sixers in any position to look past any opponent. It had been six weeks since they had strung together consecutive victories. However, these Hornets are ranked last in the Western Conference. And only a recent string of five wins in seven games proved this young team still had a pulse.

All of which should have amounted to an easy win – on paper, at least.

Sniping from long range, bricking from inside, the Sixers weren’t off to the strongest of starts. They made their first six looks from long range and clanged their first six from inside the arc.

That quirky stat led to New Orleans staking a lead for all but a few seconds of the first half. Not even the Sixers’ half-dozen treys in the first quarter – a season-best tally for any quarter – could prevent that.

Holiday had a huge first quarter, chipping in eight points, six assists and three rebounds.

Concerned with his team’s defense, Sixers coach Doug Collins has said his latest personnel moves have revolved around holding down other teams. So like their last time out, the Sixers played Damien Wilkins and sat Nick Young. It didn’t keep the Hornets from scoring. Or the Sixers from making mental blunders.

Coming out of a timeout, with 5:55 left in the first half, Lavoy Allen was whistled for an offensive foul on a moving screen. Then the Hornets hit a 3 at the other end, in what amounted to a five-point swing.

More of that same thing two minutes later, when New Orleans’ Anthony Davis swatted Spencer Hawes. Davis, a rookie, showed up Hawes at one end of the floor, then elbowed him on the way down the other end, where Roger Mason canned a transition 3-pointer. Another five-point swing.

The Sixers trailed, 53-47, at halftime – partly because of their anemic offense, mostly because of their lackadaisical defense. The Hornets shot 76 percent (16-for-21) in the first quarter, and only slightly cooled off in the second (24-for-42 overall, 57 percent).

The third quarter brought much of the same, though the Sixers had a glimmer of hope, at least.

When Jason Richardson hit a 21-footer 90 seconds into the third, the Hornets’ lead had been trimmed to 53-51. Then New Orleans went on a scoring spree. By the time it was over, and the Sixers had granted the Hornets more than a few open looks, New Orleans was taking an 86-68 lead into the fourth.

It had gotten so bad that even the guys Collins has counted for superb defense had failed him.

Brian McRoberts canned a 3-pointer in front of Royal Ivey, and Xavier Henry knocked down another with Wilkins at least five feet away from him.

Maybe he had seen enough of a faulty attempt at defense, so Collins inserted Kwame Brown and Nick Young into the game to open the fourth.

And whatever had been sitting dormant in Young’s arms for the last seven quarters he was on the bench was put to work. In a five-minute span, Young hoisted seven shots, hit six of them and scored 14 points to awake a quieted crowd. He single-handedly drew the Sixers to within eight, at 97-89.

That magic wore off, though, as Young and Dorell Wright couldn’t find their stroke in the final four minutes of the fourth. All the Sixers asked of the Hornets was to hit free throws – which they did – and the game was over.